Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-06-27
THE DAsrARDL assAgETY RECEIVED

When the San Francisco Chronicle charges,
as it did on Saturday, that the present
number of State school books, divided by
the expenditures fer their production,
gives the average cost of the books, it in
dulges in cold-bleoded mendacity that
would shaEae the father OF les. 1t knows
that such calculation Is as false as lit
would be to charge to single edition of
its paper the entire cost Of its "plant" and
all investment necessary to issue paper
regularly.
1t knows, but mendaciously conceals the
fact that the cost of type, machinery, er-
craving, electrotyping, etc, is no, wholly
chargable to the books now issued. but
must be distributed over all issued for a
long period of years. Any child of -ordi-
nary intelligence can be made to Snder-
stand, that the composition once coniplete,
the electrotyPes once made, the engravings
finished, there remains for all subsequent
issues of the book only the cost of the
presswork, paper and binding. Every one
but the hired advocates of defeated, cha
grined and-resentful book rings Will admit
that the cost of presses. binding-machin-
cry, compiling, editing, etc, is FIRST cost,
and not continuing. 1t is therefore simply
vicious calculating, that charges all these
things against the first issue of books.
The Chronicle will not admit this; it
will continue to iterate is story; 1t will
repeat its false computations, and in the
service of its clients, the book agents and
their principals, continue its assaults.
This, not because any present victory can
be achieved by them; but because the
New York, Cincinnati and San Francisco
syndicates hope, through such agencies, to
so pervert public judgment that Legis-
lature can be elected in 1889 10 propose
an amendment to the Constitution undo
ing all that has been done.
The enormous profits of which these
publishers have been shorn constituted so
vast sum, that they can afford to wage
war against the State textbook system for
two years more, in the vain hope of re-
covering it.
This is perfectly evident from the fol-
lowing extract from Saturdays San Fran
cisco Chronicle:
The whole scheme is a grieyous and costly
error, based upon mistaken calculation and a
badly-educated public sentiment, and the
sooner steps are taken to do away with the
whole system the better and cheaper it viii be
for the State.
The paper in question knows that no
steps can be taken" to do away" with
the system until the assembling of the
Legislature The indiscretion that led it
to disclose the secret purpose of the book
rings will be likely to receive their repri-
mand.
Let us amend the Chronicles peroration
And the sooner steps are taken to do
away with the whole system the better it
will be for the bank accounts of book
rings; pecuniarly the better for their
agents. who fattened upon them; pecu-
niarily the better for the venal Boards of
Education that accepted their brides; the
better for the purses of Legislators who
pocketed the book rings gold for favoring
schemes to rob the people; the better for
the middle men who grew rich upon the
profits graciously accorded them the bet
ter for teachers whom the ring masters
/ bought and sold for coin. But it will be
a sad day for parents in California when
their purses are again handed over to the
book syndicates, and their political liber-
ties are once more placed at their mercy"